What age did you let your kids read MAD Magazine?

[The WDW 3]

My son will be 9 in a few months. Too young?

 

[penn19]

My kids were never into it. I think I was 10 when I started reading them. I haven’t looked at one in years so not sure what the content is like now.

 

[Southernmiss]

The still make them? Haven't heard of those since I was a kid.

My kids never had them.

 

[low-key]

My daughter never wanted to read, but I did, cant remember the age but it was pre teen for sure, if you read Mad, you were as hip as a 10 year old could be

 

[Kittyblue]

My kids have never heard of them, but I think I must have been around that age when I read them. Past a certain age, probably around middle school, I lost interest in them and was more into teen magazines.

 

[The WDW 3]

The still make them? Haven't heard of those since I was a kid.

My kids never had them.

They sure do.

 

[tvguy]

I grew up with them, but my kids had no interest.

 

[KayMichigan]

I'd go buy a current copy and read it and see what you think. Some libraries have it as well.

I read it as a kid but didn't get much of the humor. However, it was a very different magazine then (early 70s). Nowadays the writing seems to be much more geared towards gross out humor. If he enjoys that, he might like it.

 

[ronandannette]

The still make them? Haven't heard of those since I was a kid.

My kids never had them.

I'm quite sure my DS has never seen one either, unless of course there's an on-line version.

About 100 years or so ago my DMom freaked when I brought one home, until a much cooler relative explained to her "It's just really stupid, not smutty." I was probably 9 or 10'ish at the time.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

My son will be 9 in a few months. Too young?

Mad magazine is still around? AFAIK, my kids never saw one. I read them a bit when I was in high school ( a looooooooooooog time ago).

 

[luv2sewtjr]

My son started reading them around 9. I got him a subscription and my mom got him a bunch of vintage issues for Christmas one year. Old issues are not that expensive at the antique store.

He will be 21 soon and still has his collection.

 

[barkley]

The still make them? Haven't heard of those since I was a kid.

My kids never had them.

They sure do.

according to multiple sources they were shutting down over a year ago, the most recent info i found on anything published 'currently' is-

"After issue #10 (Dec. 2019) of the new Burbank edition, Mad began to consist almost entirely of curated reprints with new covers, with the exception of year-end specials and minimal amounts of new content. Distribution to newsstands stopped, with the magazine becoming available only through comic-book shops and by subscription".

i read it way younger than 9 but it was enjoyable b/c it dealt with current pop, social and political influences-i can't imagine a kid enjoying let alone getting the references for curated reprints dating back decades. i also remember that by about middle school most mad readers abandoned it for the joys of 'national lampoon'.

 

[1GoldenSun]

That's still around? I remember it as being pretty tame.

 

[KayMichigan]

Nowadays it might be seen as lame. In its heyday it was pretty clever. The humor has definitely changed to be aimed a lot more at kids. In the 1960s and 1970s they did a lot of fairly sharp political and topical humor.

There's an online archive where you can read digital versions of every single issue from 1952 to 2018:

https://readcomiconline.to/Comic/MAD

 

[soccerdad72]

I can't remember the last time my kids would have looked at a (paper) magazine.

 

[wilbret]

I used to love Mad and had a sub for a while. I'll buy one every now and then for grins and giggles when I need something to read on a plane. I'd say there is way more sexual stuff and drug reference than you may recall. It's less witty than it was, frankly. They have always been political, but went off the rails and I just don't think it's appropriate for kids under 13, if I had to throw an age out there.

 

[Suger Mag]

Whenever they were old enough to crack open the huge "MAD Bathroom Companion" that has been a bathroom reading staple along with the latest National Geographic for decades lol

I have... with few exceptions (water damage... collage orojects)... an unbroken subscription to Nat Geo going back to the late 60's

Loved MAD as a kid, LOL... Spy vs Spy. Still have a few of the softcover compilation books floating around in the bookshelves

 

[MdmMim]

DH still has a subscription and still loves it!

 

[The WDW 3]

The other day I saw one on the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble, but it was the Christmas edition so I didn’t bother grabbing it. I assumed that they are still putting out new issues.

 

[The WDW 3]

Whenever they were old enough to crack open the huge "MAD Bathroom Companion" that has been a bathroom reading staple along with the latest National Geographic for decades lol

I have... with few exceptions (water damage... collage orojects)... an unbroken subscription to Nat Geo going back to the late 60's

Loved MAD as a kid, LOL... Spy vs Spy. Still have a few of the softcover compilation books floating around in the bookshelves

can I assume that you are a Dead Head?